Senior News

The latest news affecting older Americans

Report Cards Issued for Nursing Homes

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rate nursing homes across the country for the quality of care that they provide. In order to provide senior citizens with information that will help them choose the care facility best for them, the CMS has released their list of this year’s poorest performing sites. The survey is performed state by state, and the lowest performing facilities in each state are labeled “Special Focus Facilities” (SFF). According to an article from SeniorJournal.com, as of October, 2007, the CMS designated 128 of the 16,000 operating nursing homes in the United States as SFFs.

Once a nursing care facility has been designated as an SFF, the CMS will survey them twice as often. Most nursing home facilities are able to improve their care significantly and remove themselves from the SFF list within 24 to 30 months. However, the facilities that do not comply are no longer certified as Medicare and/or Medicaid facilities, and are usually shut down.

Visit the CMS website for more helpful information on choosing a quality care facility.

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